Even if the barrel is a recyclable plastic, it probably won’t be a case of just throwing in them in a green bin – you’ll probably have to remove the writing core (the ink “tampon” – see the things I learn reading these pen websites!) as that’ll be different from the hard plastic of the barrel. You can apparently get refillable whiteboard markers – you either resoak the “tampon” inside with more ink or replace the whole ink bit with a new pre-soaked one. Needless to say, the time/mess/expense of doing that means that only the dedicated will do it – for the rest, it’s easier & cheaper to replace & throw away disposable ones, sigh.

Does anyone know any more about recycling them? Or has any “reducing” ideas – how to make them last longer, which brands to get/avoid, alternatives in the first place? And can they be reused for anything?

We live in the Tropics, we store ours in the fridge (not freezer, mind!) to stop them from drying out. Also, avoid writing on inappropriate and rough surfaces. This would stop the nib from becoming fuzzy and worn out too soon.

Would love a soloution to this. I work in a primary school and we get through a lot of whiteboard markers. I have the kids very well trained – so not wasted or dried out, but still, it’s a lot of markers, don’t even want to think about how many across the country.

I quite like the skipping rope idea actually, the one’s the kids bring to school aren’t much nicer than electrical cord anyway.

Any reduce ideas that would work on a larger scale. Not sure what we could use instead!

If you actually want to reuse the marker’s plastic cylinder, you could string several together to create trivets, coasters, or place mats. If you didn’t want to leave them plain you could weave yarn, or strips of cloth around the cylinders.

Also, you can string several together like a ladder. The ladder will allow you to store round items on their sides. Place the ladder on your counter, table, in your fridge, or in a cupboard. Then you can pyramid cans, bottles…